INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS NATIONAL HAZMAT PROGRAM - EVOLUTION 180 CIRCULAR SAW OENHP: 2001-03, VERSION A
Florida International University's (FIU) Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology (HCET) evaluated five saws for their effectiveness in cutting specially prepared fiberglass-reinforced plywood crates. These crates were built as surrogates for crates that presently hold radioactively contaminated gloveboxes at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Los Alamos facility. The Evolution 180 circular saw was assessed on August 14, 2001. During the FIU test of efficacy, a team from the Operating Engineers National Hazmat Program (OENHP) evaluated the occupational safety and health issues associated with this technology. The Evolution 180 is a portable, metal cutting circular saw with a 7-inch diameter blade. The blade is contained within the main housing and has a retractable lower blade guard to prevent operator access to the blade during operation and shutdown. The saw is equipped with a chip collector. The maximum cutting thickness for metal is one-quarter inch and can cut steel tubing and pipe 2 inches in diameter. The unit is operated with an on/off guarded trigger switch and is supported with the hand guide mounted to the side of the saw. An adjustable lever sets the depth of the cut. The machine's circuitry will automatically shut the saw motor off if excessive overload is detected during operation. The one-half hour demonstration involved vertical and horizontal cuts and blade changes. During this process, operators experienced binding of the saw. This caused the blade to become hot, causing the sawdust collected in the chip collector to smoke. Care should be exercised to use the appropriate blade for the application, operator training, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Personal noise sampling indicated that neither worker was over the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Action Level of 85 decibels (dBA) with time-weighted averages (TWA's) of 69.1 and 68.8 dBA. The personal noise sample taken during the special demonstration with the stainless steel plate had a TWA of 69.8 dBA. These data are not entirely representative as they were gathered during a simulation and not at the actual worksite. Additional sampling should be conducted on-site, but the workers should wear hearing protection until it is determined that it is no longer necessary. The total nuisance dust sample for the Evolution 180 circular saw was 3.5 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m{sup 3}), which is lower than the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 15 mg/m{sup 3} and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 10 mg/m{sup 3}. The fiber analysis yielded 1.74 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc), which is above the PEL of 1 f/cc. Although the nuisance dust levels were low, fiberglass dust levels were higher than the PEL. Since fiberglass dust is known to be a strong skin irritant and a possible human carcinogen, the workers should continue to wear appropriate suits and gloves, as well as a full-face air-purifying respirator. The respirator should be equipped with a combination organic vapor and acid gas cartridge in combination with a High Particulate Air (HEPA) filter, since particulate filter, since during the demonstration, the workers complained of an odd smell, which may have been from the breakdown of the fiberglass.
- Research Organization:
- National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-01NT41118
- OSTI ID:
- 792085
- Report Number(s):
- FC26-01NT41118-09; TRN: US200205%%59
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 25 Jan 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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